The NHL snapped its streak of three consecutive Fridays with announcements of canceled games, but that was about the only good news for hockey fans as the league and the NHLPA engaged in a fourth straight day of negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement.

The other good news, if you could call it that, was that amid a wave of reports that little to no progress was made, commissioner Gary Bettman said he would be willing to miss Monday's induction ceremony at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto in order to continue negotiations. Whether that happens will be up to the NHLPA, whose executive director, Donald Fehr, wrote a memo to his constituents that was leaked Friday morning

When the memo went public, it brought an end to the secrecy that many had hoped would lead to more productive negotiations between hockey's owners and players. True to form, the memo itself brought more controversy, not for what it said, but for what it did not say.

As reports about the NHL's dispute with the NHLPA over the memo surfaced Friday evening, and reports from sources on both sides grew ever bleaker, Fehr scheduled an impromptu second media session of the day to quell the firestorm. He denied that he has been less than forthright with the players and said that talks are likely to resume Saturday.

Meanwhile, Craig Adams of the Pittsburgh Penguins, who was part of the NHLPA's negotiating team earlier in the week before leaving New York to avoid a winter storm, told Rob Rossi of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that "if anybody is suggesting that Don's holding information back, that's totally untrue."

Even with everything seemingly going as wrong as it could, the prospective continuation of talks had to be seen as encouraging, given that the last time negotiations soured, on Oct. 18, the commissioner and his negotiating team rejected three NHLPA proposals in a matter of minutes, then stormed out of the union's offices in Toronto. A three-week freeze followed, during which time the NHL canceled games through the end of October, then through the end of November, and then nixed the Winter Classic.

Even after Fehr's memo hit the Internet in the morning, when he and Bettman met the media in separate sessions after talks broke off for the day, both kept up with the tight-lipped theme of the week. According to Chris Johnston of the Canadian Press, Fehr would not say much more than that the NHLPA has "things to consider," while Bettman talked about doing "whatever it takes" to get a deal done.

Of course, "whatever it takes" does not mean "acquiesce to the NHLPA," as Bettman was referring to meeting through the weekend or missing the Hall of Fame festivities. Otherwise, there would have been a deal long ago.

The biggest looming problem as the lockout heads for the two-month mark is that both sides appear to be in a mindset where they feel that they have made as many concessions as they can, while significant differences still remain between the league and union. ESPN's Pierre LeBrun reported that the NHL is willing to guarantee $211 million to players as part of the "Make Whole" program to ensure that all contracts are honored under a new CBA—the problem being that the NHLPA "doesn't agree with the league's model" or the money.

Disagreeing with the NHL's financial models could help explain why the NHLPA, from the start of negotiations, has offered alternative proposals, rather than basing its counteroffers off what the league has put on the table. It's also why phrases such as "we're not speaking the same language" have permeated labor discussions since the summer.

That makes bargaining difficult; instead of finding common ground as a basis to meet in the middle, agreement from either side to use the other's proposal as a basis for a deal would be seen as a sign of weakness. While it has appeared at times that the NHLPA has moved its base for proposals closer to the NHL's philosophy, it is apparent after a week of talks that neither side is really there yet.

A good compromise is supposed to leave no one happy. Failing to make one continues to have the same effect.